Ralston Reports: Meteoric rise for newcomer Laxalt

A year ago, almost no one gave him much chance to become attorney general.

Today, Laxalt is poised to become a player in presidential politics.

On Saturday, Laxalt, who did not live in Nevada five years ago, will host half a dozen presidential candidates at a Gardnerville ranch. His grandfather, former Sen. Paul Laxalt, who began the tradition of Basque barbecues, would be proud.

How in the world did this happen? How did a newcomer to the state, left for dead only last year after a law firm evaluation leaked that described him as a “train wreck,” become such a formidable force in state and now national politics?

Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt speaks last year during his campaign. Little more than eight months after his upset victory over Ross Miller, Laxalt is poised to become a player in presidential politics.(Photo: AP Photo/John Locher)

After defeating then-Secretary of State Ross Miller in a red wave upset, Laxalt has, mostly quietly, set about establishing himself as someone to be reckoned with through a relentless public relations campaign, regular appearances at political events and adherence to the conservative persona he projected in his campaign. Laxalt has brought politics back to the attorney general’s office, for good or ill, raising the position’s profile in a way no recent AG has done, positioning himself as Nevada’s leading critic of the Obama administration.

Like any politician climbing the ladder so swiftly, Laxalt has stepped on some toes, including those of Gov. Brian Sandoval. It is an open secret in Carson City that Sandoval, still the most popular politician in Nevada, and Laxalt have a frosty relationship.

It began with Laxalt’s unilateral decision to join that lawsuit against the Obama administration disputing the president’s authority to issue an executive order on illegal immigration. And the relationship surely worsened after Laxalt criticized Sandoval’s record-setting tax proposal during the legislative session.

But the rookie attorney general appears undaunted, dedicated to staking out the role of the most prominent GOP conservative in the state, even at the loss of collegiality with Sandoval. And Laxalt also has also committed himself to ensuring that, unlike his predecessor, Catherine Cortez Masto, he will let no deed go unpublicized.

That, of course, will help his name recognition as TV stations and others ravenously gobble up such minutiae as Medicaid fraud sentencing announcements or home invasion indictments.

Since he was sworn in seven months ago, Laxalt has issued more than 100 news releases, an average of about three a week. No other elected official is even close; for comparison’s sake, Sandoval has sent out about a third as many since January.

Laxalt also has hired some good help, especially his chief of staff, Nick Trutanich, a smooth Los Angeles transplant who is well-regarded even by those who don’t care for the sharp elbows of his boss. It’s also true, though, that some good people have left the office during the Laxalt administration, most recently Marta Adams, who has been fighting Yucca Mountain for nearly two decades. Those departures may be part of the transition from the old to the new, or they could be a warning beacon of trouble brewing inside the office.

Laxalt, who was somewhat media-shy during the campaign, has become pretty sure on his feet and does not shy away from reporters as much. He also clearly relishes his role in taking on the administration, most recently on a new EPA water regulation. (Sandoval is with him on this one.)

On Tuesday, he tweeted a link to a story about a speech he gave in Mesquite on the issue. “The president, in the last few years, has basically signaled that anything he can’t get politically, anything he can’t get Congress to push, they’re (the federal government) just going to lean on their agencies to take existing laws and stretch and stretch and stretch,” Laxalt said, according to a report in The Spectrum. “It’s really just unfortunate.”

Laxalt clearly is not content to be confined to either his Carson City office or the state’s lines. He went to Washington earlier this year to testify on the immigration lawsuit. The Republican National Committee named him a “rising star” in May. And in June, he announced the Basque barbecue after he had secured RSVPs from Scott Walker, Cruz, Carly Fiorina and others. (Jeb Bush and Rand Paul had scheduling conflicts.)

Besides piggybacking on his grandfather’s legacy – Paul Laxalt used to hold such events across the state – the attorney general was making a strong statement that he is a serious player. And it’s not surprising that his name is now mentioned as a possible candidate for Congress, Senate or governor. He is in many conversations – and should be.

There are some who will say that Laxalt, at 36, is trying to go too far, too fast. But he is only three years younger than Miller, who was seen as gubernatorial timber in 2018.

Yes, he still must prove that he is not just a majordomo rather than a legitimate kingmaker. If he inherited even a small amount of his grandfather’s talent and ambition, though, he will set his sights high.

It’s exactly two years ago today that I emailed Laxalt after hearing of his interest in the attorney general’s race.

“With a new baby and a growing legal career, I have not had the time to evaluate this very serious public service,” he responded. “Since this is a very important job that I think should not be ceded to Ross Miller, I have not closed the door but nor have I personally opened it. I will decide to explore or shut the door completely hopefully in the next few weeks.”

He opened the door a few months later. After a stunning upset followed by a profile-raising strategy, I wonder where it will lead.

Jon Ralston has been covering Nevada politics for more than a quarter-century. See his blog at ralstonreports.com and watch "Ralston Live" at 5:30 p.m. weekdays on KNPB.